Barry Lyndon (1975) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error An Irish rogue wins the heart of a rich widow and assumes her dead husband's aristocratic position in 18th-century England. Director: Stanley Kubrick (written for the screen by), William Makepeace Thackeray (novel) Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 39 titles created 15 Jun 2012 a list of 49 titles created 05 Aug 2013 a list of 25 titles created 17 Nov 2013 a list of 46 titles created 15 May 2014 a list of 39 titles created 18 Jul 2015 Search for " Barry Lyndon " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Won 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 13 nominations. See more awards » Videos A middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a fourteen-year-old nymphet. Director: Stanley Kubrick After refusing to attack an enemy position, a general accuses the soldiers of cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them. Director: Stanley Kubrick A New York City doctor, who is married to an art curator, pushes himself on a harrowing and dangerous night-long odyssey of sexual and moral discovery after his wife admits that she once almost cheated on him. Director: Stanley Kubrick Crooks plan and execute a daring race-track robbery. Director: Stanley Kubrick The slave Spartacus leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Republic. Director: Stanley Kubrick An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically try to stop. Director: Stanley Kubrick A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Director: Stanley Kubrick Ready to catch a train to his hometown, a washed up boxer tells us about the strange and twisty events that happened to him the past couple of days. Director: Stanley Kubrick Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. 9000, sets off on a quest. Director: Stanley Kubrick 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X In future Britain, Alex DeLarge, a charismatic and psycopath delinquent, who likes to practice crimes and ultra-violence with his gang, is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem - but not all goes according to plan. Director: Stanley Kubrick Four soldiers trapped behind enemy lines must confront their fears and desires. Director: Stanley Kubrick A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

Director: Stanley Kubrick Edit Storyline In the Eighteenth Century, in a small village in Ireland, Redmond Barry is a young farm boy in love with his cousin Nora Brady. When Nora gets engaged to the British Captain John Quin, Barry challenges him to a duel of pistols. He wins and escapes to Dublin but is robbed on the road. Without an alternative, Barry joins the British Army to fight in the Seven Years War. He deserts and is forced to join the Prussian Army where he saves the life of his captain and becomes his protégé and spy of the Irish gambler Chevalier de Balibari. He helps Chevalier and becomes his associate until he decides to marry the wealthy Lady Lyndon. They move to England and Barry, in his obsession of nobility, dissipates her fortune and makes a dangerous and revengeful enemy. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil At long last Redmond Barry became a gentleman -- and that was his tragedy. See more » Genres: 18 December 1975 (USA) See more » Also Known As: Did You Know?

Trivia Marisa Berenson described Stanley Kubrick as being uncharacteristically shy around her, and that he would often prefer to communicate his direction with numerous handwritten notes. See more » Goofs In this story set in the 18th century, Lady Honoria's makeup makes her look like a woman of the 1970s. See more » Quotes [two figures visible on the horizon prepare to duel. Three witnesses stand between them] Second: Gentlemen, cock your pistols! Gentlemen... Narrator : Barry's father... Second: ...aim your pistols! Narrator : ...had been bred, like many other young sons of a genteel family, to the profession of the law. Second: One! Narrator : And there is no doubt he would've... Second: Two! Narrator : ...made an eminent figure in his profession... [...] Great Paintings Come To Life 20 April 2009 | by ccthemovieman-1 (United States) – See all my reviews Some movies - I wish there were more of them - simply look like a series of great paintings. This film has that look.

You could freeze-frame many of the scenes and swear you were looking at a Gainsborough, a Vermeer, a Hogarth or similar work of art by one the great artists of three to five centuries ago. It's just beautiful. For that, we have Director Stanley Kubrick and Photographer John Alcott to thank. Being a three-hour movie, there are plenty of wonderful shots to admire, too. In addition, the costumes are lavish and authentic and the scoring is notable. It's no accident that Oscars were garnered for art/set direction, cinematography, costume design and scoring. Yeah, if you enjoy classical music, you'll really enjoy the soundtrack, too, under the guidance of conductor Leonard Roseman. Not to be overlooked is the fine acting and the interesting and underrated story. I say "underrated" because this film, from what I've read, bored a lot of people and and it was a box-office flop. That's too bad because, frankly, I found the story (outside of the first 10--15 minutes) to be fascinating. As I watched, I kept wondering what strange occurrences will happen next to the lead character, "Redmond Barry/Barry Lyndon," played beautifully by Ryan O'Neal.

(For most of the movie, he's called "Redmond Barry," so I will refer to him as that.) Overall, this was a low-key adventure story about the rise-and-fall of a "scoundrel" back in late 18th century Englishman. "Mr. Barry" is an Irishmen living in England who winds up dealing with a number of people: Irish, English, Prussian, French. His dealings with these people are bizarre at times. While he mainly is shown doing what he can to promote himself, for either monetary gain and prestige of a name and power, he's not all bad. There is a compassionate side to him, but it only shows itself in small doses. It makes him all the more interesting to watch, because you don't always know how he's going to react to his circumstances, which change radically every few years. We witness his rise to prominence and then his fall when his "sins begin to find him out," as the Bible would describe. It's quite a roller coaster ride. This is an emotional, involving story, and a feast for the eyes and ears. It's quite different, too, certainly not the average fare from Kubrick.

I can only hope this comes out on a high-definition disc some day. Admirers of this film need to see this in all its glory. 58 of 68 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes Barry Lyndon Movie Review & Film Summary (1975) | Roger Ebert Tweet Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon," received indifferently in 1975, has grown in stature in the years since and is now widely regarded as one of the master's best. It is certainly in every frame a Kubrick film: technically awesome, emotionally distant, remorseless in its doubt of human goodness. Based on a novel published in 1844, it takes a form common in the 19th century novel, following the life of the hero from birth to death. The novel by Thackeray, called the first novel without a hero, observes a man without morals, character or judgment, unrepentant, unredeemed. Born in Ireland in modest circumstances, he rises through two armies and the British aristocracy with cold calculation. Advertisement " Barry Lyndon " is aggressive in its cool detachment.

It defies us to care, it asks us to remain only observers of its stately elegance. Many of its developments take place off-screen, the narrator informing us what's about to happen, and we learn long before the film ends that its hero is doomed. This news doesn't much depress us, because Kubrick has directed Ryan O'Neal in the title role as if he were a still life. It's difficult to imagine such tumultuous events whirling around such a passive character. He loses a fortune, a wife or a leg with as little emotion as he might in losing a dog. Only the death of his son devastates him and that perhaps because he sees himself in the boy. The casting choice of O'Neal is bold. Not a particularly charismatic actor, he is ideal for the role. Consider Albert Finney in " Tom Jones ," for example, bursting with vitality. Finney could not possibly have played Lyndon. O'Neal easily seems self-pitying, narcissistic, on the verge of tears. As one terrible event after another occurs to him, he projects an eerie calm. Nor do his triumphs -- in gambling, con games, a fortunate marriage and even acquiring a title -- seem to bring him much joy.

He is a man to whom things happen. The other characters seem cast primarily for their faces and their presence, certainly not for their personalities. Look at the curling sneer of the lips of Leonard Rossiter , as Captain Quin, who ends Barry's youthful affair with a cousin by an advantageous offer of marriage. Study the face of Marisa Berenson , as Lady Lyndon . Is there any passion in her marriage? She loves their son as Barry does, but that seems to be their only feeling in common. When the time comes for her to sign an annuity check for the man who nearly destroyed her family, her pen pauses momentarily, then smoothly advances. Advertisement The film has the arrogance of genius. Never mind its budget or the perfectionism in its 300-day shooting schedule. How many directors would have had Kubrick's confidence in taking this ultimately inconsequential story of a man's rise and fall, and realizing it in a style that dictates our attitude toward it? We don't simply see Kubrick's movie, we see it in the frame of mind he insists on -- unless we're so closed to the notion of directorial styles that the whole thing just seems like a beautiful extravagance (which it is).

There is no other way to see Barry than the way Kubrick sees him. Kubrick's work has a sense of detachment and bloodlessness. The most "human" character in " 2001: A Space Odyssey " (1968) is the computer, and " A Clockwork Orange " (1971) is disturbing specifically in its objectivity about violence. The title of "Clockwork," from Anthony Burgess' novel, illustrates Kubrick's attitude to his material. He likes to take organic subjects and disassemble them as if they were mechanical. It's not just that he wants to know what makes us tick; he wants to demonstrate that we do all tick. After " Spartacus " (1960), he never again created a major character driven by idealism or emotion. The events in "Barry Lyndon" could furnish a swashbuckling romance.

He falls into a foolish adolescent love, has to leave his home suddenly after a duel, enlists almost accidentally in the British army, fights in Europe, deserts from not one but two armies, falls in with unscrupulous companions, marries a woman of wealth and beauty, and then destroys himself because he lacks the character to survive. Advertisement But Kubrick examines Barry's life with microscopic clarity. He has the confidence of the great 19th century novelists, authors who stood above their material and accepted without question their right to manipulate and interpret it with omniscience. Kubrick has appropriated Thackeray's attitude -- or Trollope's or George Eliot's. There isn't Dickens' humor or relish of human character. Barry Lyndon, falling in and out of love and success, may see no pattern in his own affairs, but the artist sees one for him, one of consistent selfish opportunism. Perhaps Kubrick's buried theme in "Barry Lyndon" is even similar to his outlook in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Both films are about organisms striving to endure and prevail -- and never mind the reason.

The earlier film was about the human race itself; this one is about a depraved minor example of it. Barry journeys without plan, sees what he desires, tries to acquire it and perhaps succeeds because he plays roles so well without being remotely dedicated to them. He looks the part of a lover, a soldier, a husband. But there is no there there. There's a sense in both this film and "2001" that a superior force hovers above these struggles and controls them. In "2001," it was a never-clarified form of higher intelligence. In "Barry Lyndon," it's Kubrick himself, standing aloof from the action by two distancing devices: the narrator ( Michael Hordern ), who deliberately destroys suspense and tension by informing us of all key developments in advance, and the photography, which is a succession of meticulously, almost coldly, composed set images. It's notable that three of the film's four Oscars were awarded for cinematography ( John Alcott ), art direction (Ken Adam) and costumes (Ulla-Britt Soderlund and Milena Canonero).

The many landscapes are often filmed in long shots; the fields, hills and clouds could be from a landscape by Gainsborough. The interior compositions could be by Joshua Reynolds. Advertisement This must be one of the most beautiful films ever made, and yet the beauty isn't in the service of emotion. Against magnificent settings, the characters play at intrigues and scandals. They cheat at cards and marriage, they fight ridiculous duels. This is a film with a backdrop of the Seven Years' War that engulfed Europe, and it hardly seems to think the war worth noticing, except as a series of challenges posed for Barry Lyndon. By placing such small characters on such a big stage, by forcing our detachment from them, Kubrick supplies a philosophical position just as clearly as if he'd put speeches in his characters' mouths. The images proceed in elegant stages through the events, often accompanied by the inexorable funereal progression of Handel's "Sarabande." For such an eventful life, there is no attempt to speed the events along. Kubrick told the critic Michel Ciment he used the narrator because the novel had too much incident even for a three-hour film, but there isn't the slightest sense he's condensing.

Some people find "Barry Lyndon" a fascinating, if cold, exercise in masterful filmmaking; others find it a terrific bore. I have little sympathy for the second opinion; how can anyone be bored by such an audacious film? "Barry Lyndon" isn't a great entertainment in the usual way, but it's a great example of directorial vision: Kubrick saying he's going to make this material function as an illustration of the way he sees the world. Advertisement Time Out Top Critic One of cinema's most heartfelt and sustained (it runs over three hours), if cynical, visions of an individual's powerlessness. January 30, 2009 | Rating: 5/6 | Full Review… Time Out Top Critic Stanley Kubrick's magisterial Thackeray adaptation now stands as one of his greatest and most savagely ironic films, not to mention one of the few period pieces on celluloid so transporting that it seems to predate the invention of cameras.

May 23, 2007 Village Voice Top Critic Ryan O'Neal's excellent performance captures the shallow opportunism endemic to the title character who is brought down as much by his own flaws as by the mores of the ordered social structure of 18th-century England. May 8, 2007 | Full Review… Variety Top Critic All of Stanley Kubrick's features look better now than when they were first released, but Barry Lyndon, which fared poorly at the box office in 1975, remains his most underrated. It may also be his greatest. Chicago Reader Top Critic Barry Lyndon isn't a great success, and it's not a great entertainment, but it's a great example of directorial vision: Kubrick saying he's going to make this material function as an illustration of the way he sees the world. May 8, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review… Chicago Sun-Times Top Critic It's gorgeous to look at, with its reverse zooms that slowly widen to stunning rural panoramas, its beautiful framing, its delight in decorative detail.

You feel you are watching a masterclass in how to recreate the look and feel of the late 18th century. December 17, 2016 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… Olly Richards Sunday Times (UK) This is a period film like no other, a slow but utterly hypnotic tale of an Irish youth whose adventures and misfortunes take in the Seven Years' War, the gambling clubs of Europe and marriage into the English aristocracy. July 31, 2016 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… Adrian Turner Radio Times Ryan O'Neal has the role of his career as Redmond Barry, an Irish rogue who lies, fights and sleeps his way to prominence in 18th century society. July 31, 2016 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… Allan Hunter Daily Express (UK) As leisurely as it is painterly, this is a masterclass in cinematography - famously, Kubrick used nothing but natural light in all but a few scenes. Don't miss the chance to watch it in a cinema.

July 31, 2016 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… Barry Lyndon (1975) | Times2 | The Times & The Sunday Times Ryan O'Neal is resplendent as the unscrupulous Barry Lyndon ★★★★★ There are few films so sumptuous that you almost require fabric swatches while watching — peachy moiré silks, red brocades, eau de nil satins, lilac-grey velvets — and that’s just the menswear and the furniture. Ryan O’Neal is resplendent in the title role of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece as an ambitious and unscrupulous young man in search of fortune. By the time Marisa Berenson clatters along in her carriage as the newly wed Lady Lyndon in a glamorous red fox-fur hooded cape with seriously bouffant hair, it does not surprise that the film won the best costume Oscar and three more for art direction, cinematography and music. Directed by Kubrick at the peak of his powers, Barry Lyndon is worlds away from A Clockwork Orange or… Want to read more?

Barry Lyndon | FilmNav Barry Lyndon Starring: Ryan O’ Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Kruger, Steven Berkoff Screenwriters: Stanley Kubrick and William Makepeace Thackeray (novel) Running Time: 184 mins Summary Probably one of the most beautifully shot films ever made. Every single framed scene in this movie is like a study in 18th century paintings, so much in fact that it almost detracts the viewer from what is actually happening on screen with the narrative. Barry Lyndon is a 1975 period film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray which recounts the exploits of an 18th century Irish adventurer. Originally planned for Robert Redford in the starring role until he dropped out, Ryan O’Neal instead stars as Barry Lyndon. The film had a modest commercial success and a mixed critical reception. Now it is seen as one of Kubrick’s finest films.

It was part of Time magazine’s poll of the 100 best films as well as the Village Voice poll conducted in 1999 and was ranked #27 in Sight and Sound‘s 2002 film critics poll. Director Martin Scorsese has cited Barry Lyndon as his favorite Kubrick film. Quotations from it appeared in such disparate works as Ridley Scott’s The Duellists, Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, Wes Anderson’s Rushmore and Lars von Trier’s Dogville. The film is divided into two halves each headed with a title card. I. By What Means Redmond Barry Acquired the Style and Title of Barry Lyndon. In 1750s Ireland, the father of Redmond Barry (Ryan O’Neal) is killed in a duel over a disputed horse sale. The widow (Marie Kean), disdaining offers of marriage, devotes herself to her only son. Barry falls in love with his cousin, Nora Brady (Gay Hamilton). She seduces him, but when the well-off English Captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter) appears, Barry, who has no money, is dropped.

Nora and her family plan to relieve their poverty with an advantageous marriage. Barry refuses to accept the situation and kills Quin in a duel, apparently. Barry flees to Dublin, but en route is robbed of purse and equipment by a famous highwayman, Captain Feeney (Arthur O’Sullivan). Broke, he joins the British army where a family friend, Captain Grogan (Godfrey Quigley), informs him that he did not kill Quin. His pistol was loaded with tow. The duel was stage-managed to get rid of Barry so Quin could marry Nora and repair her family’s fortune. Barry’s regiment is sent to fight in the Seven Years’ War. Grogan is fatally wounded in a skirmish with the French. Barry steals an officer courier’s uniform, horse and identity and deserts. En route to Holland, then neutral, he encounters the Prussian, Captain Potzdorf (Hardy Krüger), who seeing through his disguise offers him the choice of being shot as a deserter or enlisting in the Prussian army. Barry enlists in his second army and saves Potzdorf’s life in a skirmish.

After the war ends in 1763, Barry is employed by the Prussian Police to become the servant of the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee), a professional gambler. The Prussians suspect he is a spy and Barry is to verify this. Barry discovers the chevalier is Irish and they become confederates cheating at cards. They are discovered and expelled by the Prussians. Barry and the Chevalier travel the spas of Europe profiting from their gambling with Barry enforcing reluctant debtors with a duel. Seeing that his life is going nowhere, Barry decides to marry into wealth. He encounters the beautiful and wealthy Countess of Lyndon (Marisa Berenson), has little difficulty seducing her, and after her elderly husband, Sir Charles Lyndon (Frank Middlemass), dies, marries her. II. Containing an Account of the Misfortunes and Disasters Which Befell Barry Lyndon. On marriage (1773), Barry takes the Countess’ last name of Lyndon and settles in England to enjoy her wealth; he still has no money of his own.

Lord Bullingdon (Dominic Savage), Lady Lyndon’s 10-year-old son by Sir Charles, hates Barry, who regularly beats him. The marriage is unhappy. The Countess bears a son, Bryan Patrick. Barry enjoys spending his wife’s money and is unfaithful, keeping his wife in dull seclusion. He later comes to his senses and apologises to her. Some years later, Barry’s mother comes to live with him. She warns her son that his position is precarious; If Lady Lyndon were to die, all her wealth would go to her son, Lord Bullingdon (now a young man, played by Leon Vitali); Barry would be left penniless. Barry’s mother advises him to obtain a noble title to protect himself. He cultivates the acquaintance of the influential Lord Wendover (André Morell) with this goal in mind, spending much money to grease his way to the top. All this effort is wasted however. One day during a birthday party for Lady Lyndon, Lord Bullingdon announces his hatred of his stepfather and is beaten by Barry in front of many important guests. After this, Bullingdon leaves the family estate, and England itself, for places unknown.

But Barry’s public cruelty loses him all the powerful friends in high society he has worked so hard to make and he is shunned socially. As badly as he has treated his stepson, Barry proves to be a compassionate and doting father to Bryan, with whom he now spends all his time. However, the day before his ninth birthday, the boy is thrown from his horse and later dies. The grief-stricken Barry turns to drink, while Lady Lyndon seeks solace in religion, assisted by the Reverend Samuel Runt (Murray Melvin), tutor first to Lord Bullingdon and then to Bryan. However, Barry’s mother dismisses the Reverend, partly because they no longer need a tutor and partly for fear that his influence is making Lady Lyndon worse. Plunging even deeper into grief, she attempts suicide. Upon hearing of this, Lord Bullingdon returns to England and challenges Barry to a duel. Inside a barn, where the duel is held, a coin flip gives Bullingdon the privilege of shooting first, but his pistol misfires. Barry magnanimously fires into the ground, but Bullingdon refuses to let the duel end there.

He fires again, this time hitting Barry in the leg, which has to be amputated below the knee. While Barry is recovering, Bullingdon takes control of the estate. He sends his accountant and emissary Graham (Philip Stone) to the cottage, where Barry is recovering, to offer him a deal: Bullingdon will grant Barry an annuity of 500 guineas for life if he leaves England forever and ends his marriage to Lady Lyndon; otherwise, with his credit and bank accounts exhausted, his creditors and bill collectors will see to it that he is put in jail. Wounded in spirit and body, Barry reluctantly accepts the deal. He goes first to Ireland with his mother, then to the European continent to resume his former profession of gambler, though without his former success. He never sees Lady Lyndon again. The final scene (set in 1789) shows the middle-aged Lady Lyndon signing Barry’s annuity cheque as Bullingdon looks on.

One last title card closes the film: Epilogue…It was in the reign of King George III that the aforesaid personages lived and quarreled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now. Diana Körner as Lieschen (German Girl) Dominic Savage as Young Bullingdon Arthur O’Sullivan as Capt. Feeny Billy Boyle as Seamus Feeny Anthony Sharp as Lord Hallam Critic Tim Robey suggests, in direct reference to Barry Lyndon, that the film “makes you realise that the most undervalued aspect of Kubrick’s genius could well be his way with actors.”[1] He adds that the supporting cast is a “glittering procession of cameos, not from star names but from vital character players.”[1] The cast featured Leon Vitali as the older Lord Bullingdon, who would then became Kubrick’s personal assistant, working as the casting director on his following films, and supervising film-to-video transfers for Kubrick. Their relationship lasted until Kubrick’s death.

The film’s cinematographer, John Alcott, appears at the men’s club in the non-speaking role of the man asleep in a chair near the title character when Lord Bullingdon challenges Barry to a duel. Kubrick’s daughter Vivian also appears (in an uncredited role) as a guest at Bryan’s birthday party. Kubrick stalwarts Patrick Magee (who had played the handicapped writer in A Clockwork Orange) and Philip Stone (who had played Alex’s father in A Clockwork Orange, and would go on to play the dead caretaker Grady in The Shining) also featured as the Chevalier du Balibari and the Lyndon family lawyer respectively. Production After 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick made plans for a film about Napoleon Bonaparte. During pre-production, however, Sergei Bondarchuk and Dino De Laurentiis’ Waterloo was released and subsequently failed at the box office. As a result, Kubrick’s financiers pulled their funding for the film. He was furious, having put considerable time and effort into the development of the Napoleon project. Left with no alternative, he turned his attention to his next film, A Clockwork Orange.

Subsequently, Kubrick showed an interest in Thackeray’s Vanity Fair but dropped the project when a serialised version for television was produced. He told an interviewer, “At one time, Vanity Fair interested me as a possible film but, in the end, I decided the story could not be successfully compressed into the relatively short time-span of a feature film…as soon as I read Barry Lyndon I became very excited about it.”[2] Having garnered Oscar nominations for Dr Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, Kubrick’s reputation in the early 1970s was that of “a perfectionist auteur who loomed larger over his movies than any concept or star.”[1] His studio – Warner Bros.

– was therefore “eager to bankroll” his next project, which Kubrick kept “shrouded in secrecy” from the press partly due to the furor surrounding the controversially violent A Clockwork Orange (particularly in the UK) and partly due to his “long-standing paranoia about the tabloid press.”[1] Having felt compelled to set aside his plans for a film about Napoleon Bonaparte, Kubrick set his sights on Thackeray’s 1844 “satirical picaresque about the fortune-hunting of an Irish rogue,” Barry Lyndon, the setting of which allowed Kubrick to take advantage of the copious period research Kubrick had done for the now-aborted Napoleon.[1] At the time, Kubrick merely announced only that his next film would star Ryan O’Neal (deemed “a seemingly un-Kubricky choice of leading man”[1]) and Marisa Berenson, a former Vogue and Time magazine cover model, and be shot largely in Ireland.[1] So heightened was the secrecy surrounding the film that “Even Berenson, when Kubrick first approached her, was told only that it was to be an 18th-century costume piece [and] she was instructed to keep

 out of the sun in the months before production, to achieve the period-specific pallor he required.”[1] Principal photography Principal photography took 300 days, from spring 1973 through early 1974, with a break for Christmas.

Many of the film’s exteriors were shot in Ireland, playing “itself, England, and Prussia during the Seven Years’ War.”[1] Drawing inspiration from “the landscapes of Watteau and Gainsborough,” Kubrick and cinematographer Alcott also relied on the “scrupulously researched art direction” of Ken Adams and Roy Walker.[1] Alcott, Adams and Walker would be among those who would win Oscars for their “amazing work” on the film.[1] Several of the interior scenes were filmed in Powerscourt House, a famous 18th century mansion in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. The house was destroyed in an accidental fire several months after filming (November 1974), so the film serves as a record of the lost interiors, particularly the “Saloon” which was used for more than one scene. The Wicklow Mountains are visible, for example, through the window of the Saloon during a scene set in Berlin.

Other locations included Blenheim Palace, Castle Howard (exteriors of the Lyndon estate), Corsham Court (various interiors and the music room scene), Petworth House (chapel, etc.), Stourhead (lake and temple), Longleat, and Wilton House (interior and exterior) in England, Dunrobin Castle (exterior and garden as Spa) in Scotland, Dublin Castle in Ireland (the chevalier’s home), Ludwigsburg Palace near Stuttgart and Frederick the Great’s Neues Palais at Potsdam near Berlin. Some exterior shots were also filmed at Waterford Castle (now a luxury hotel and golf course) and Island. Moorstown Castle in Tipperary also featured.

Cinematography The film—as with “almost every Kubrick film”—is a “showcase for [a] major innovation in technique.”[1] While 2001: A Space Odyssey had featured “revolutionary effects,” and The Shining would later feature heavy use of the Steadicam, Barry Lyndon saw a considerable number of sequences shot “without recourse to electric light.”[1] Cinematography was overseen by director of photography John Alcott (who won an Oscar for his work), and is particularly noted for the technical innovations that made some of its most spectacular images possible. To achieve photography without electric lighting “for the many densely furnished interior scenes… meant shooting by candlelight,” which is known to be difficult in still photography, “let alone with moving images.”[1] Special lenses were developed for Barry Lyndon to allow filming using only natural light.

Kubrick was “determined not to reproduce the set-bound, artificially lit look of other costume dramas from that time.”[1] After “tinkering with different combinations of lenses and film stock,” the production got hold of three “super-fast 50mm” f/0.7 lenses “developed by Zeiss for use by NASA in the Apollo moon landings,” which Kubrick had discovered in his search for low-light solutions.[1][3] These super-fast lenses “with their huge aperture [the film actually features the largest lens aperture in film history] and fixed focal length” were problematic to mount,[1] but allowed Kubrick and Alcott to shoot scenes lit with actual candles to an average lighting volume of only three candlepower, “recreating the huddle and glow of a pre-electrical age.”[1] Hogarth’s The Country Dance (c.1745) illustrates the type of interior scene that Kubrick sought to emulate with Barry Lyndon. Although Kubrick’s express desire was to avoid electric lighting where possible, most shots were achieved with conventional lenses and lighting, but were lit to deliberately mimic natural light rather than for compositional reasons.

In addition to potentially seeming more realistic, these methods also gave a particular period look to the film which has often been likened to 18th century paintings (which were, of course, depicting a world devoid of electric lighting), in particular owing “a lot to William Hogarth, with whom Thackeray had always been fascinated.”[1] In the words of critic Tim Robey, the film has a “stately, painterly, often determinedly static quality.”[1] For example, to help light some interior scenes, lights were placed outside and aimed through the windows, which were covered in a diffuse material to scatter the light evenly through the room rather than being placed inside for maximum use as most conventional films do. One telltale sign of this method occurs in the scene where Barry duels Lord Bullingdon. Though it appears to be lit entirely with natural light, one can see that the light coming in through the cross-shaped windows in the barn appears blue in color, while the main lighting of the scene coming in from the side is not.

This is because the light through the cross-shaped windows is daylight from the sun, which when recorded on the film stock used by Kubrick showed up as blue-tinted compared to the incandescent electric light coming in from the side. Despite such slight tinting effects, this method of lighting not only gave the look of natural daylight coming in through the windows, but it also protected the historic locations from the damage caused by mounting the lights on walls or ceilings and the heat from the lights.

This helped the film “fit… perfectly with Kubrick’s gilded-cage aesthetic – the film is consciously a museum piece, its characters pinned to the frame like butterflies.”[1] Dublin Castle, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland (hotel – casino) Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, Scotland, UK (exterior shot) Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Kells, County Meath, Ireland (English redcoat army scenes) Longleat House, Wiltshire, England, UK (interiors) Ludwigsburg Castle, Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany Petworth House, Petworth, West Sussex, England, UK (chapel: wedding) Petworth, West Sussex, England, UK (chapel: wedding) Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany (exteriors) Powerscourt, County Wicklow, Ireland (house) Rathgormack, County Waterford, Ireland Sans-Souci, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany (exteriors) Stourhead Garden, Warminster, Wiltshire, England, UK The Guildhall, Lavenham, Suffolk, England,

 UK (The inn in which Barry is treated after the duel .) Warminster, Wiltshire, England, UK Wilton House, Wilton, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK (interiors) Wilton, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK Wiltshire, England, UK Music The film’s period setting allowed Kubrick to indulge his penchant for classical music, and the film score uses pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach (an arrangement of the Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor), Frederick the Great (Hohenfriedberger Marsch), Antonio Vivaldi (Cello Concerto in E-Minor, a transcription of the Cello Sonata in E Minor RV 40), Giovanni Paisiello, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Schubert (German Dance No.

1 in C major, Piano Trio in E-Flat, Opus 100 and Impromptu No. 1 in C minor). The piece most associated with the film, however, is the main title music: George Frideric Handel’s stately Sarabande from the Suite in D minor HWV 437. Originally for solo harpsichord, the versions for the main and end titles are performed very romantically with orchestral strings, harpsichord, and timpani. It is used at various points in the film, in various arrangements, to indicate the implacable working of impersonal fate. The score also includes Irish folk music arranged by Paddy Moloney and performed by The Chieftains. Another very famous piece in the soundtrack is called Women of Ireland, by Seán Ó Riada, played by The Chieftains. Reception The film “was not the commercial success Warner Bros. had been hoping for” within the United States,[1] although it fared better in Europe. This mixed reaction saw the film (in the words of one retrospective review) “greeted, on its release, with dutiful admiration – but not love.

Critics… rail[ed] against the perceived coldness of Kubrick’s style, the film’s self-conscious artistry and slow pace. Audiences, on the whole, rather agreed…”[1] This “air of disappointment”[1] factored into Kubrick’s decision to next film Stephen King’s The Shining — a project that would not only please him artistically, but also be more likely to succeed financially. Still, several other critics, including Gene Siskel, praised the film’s technical quality and strong narrative, and Siskel himself counted it as one of the five best films of the year.

Roger Ebert added this film to his ‘Great Movies’ list on September 9, 2009, writing, “It defies us to care, it asks us to remain only observers of its stately elegance”, and it “must be one of the most beautiful films ever made.”[4] Awards The film received Academy Awards for Best Art Direction (Ken Adam, Roy Walker, Vernon Dixon), Best Cinematography (John Alcott), Best Costume Design (Milena Canonero, Ulla-Britt Soderlund) and Best Musical Score (Leonard Rosenman, “for his arrangements of Schubert and Handel”.)[1] Kubrick was nominated three times, for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay.[5] Kubrick won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Direction. John Alcott won for Best Cinematography. Barry Lyndon was also nominated for Best Film, Art Direction, and Costume Design.

Source novel Stanley Kubrick based his original screenplay on William Makepeace Thackeray’s The Luck of Barry Lyndon (republished as the novel Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq.), a picaresque tale written and published in serial form in 1844. The serial, which is told in the first person and “edited” by the fictional George Savage FitzBoodle, concerns a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy. The source novel is written by Lyndon while imprisoned looking back on his life. Lyndon is a notable example of the literary device of the unreliable narrator – throughout the novel the reader is constantly asked to question the veracity of the events described by him. Although later editions dropped the frame device of FitzBoodle’s (Thackeray’s pseudonym) editions, it is crucial in unmasking Lyndon’s narcissism through occasional notes inserted at the bottom of the page noting information that is contradictory or inconsistent in relation to what Lyndon writes elsewhere. As Andrew Sanders argues in his introduction for the Oxford Classics edition, these annotations were relevant to the novel as an ingenious narrative device as Thackeray constantly invites the reader to question Lyndon’s version of the events.

Kubrick however felt that using a first-person narrative would not be useful in a film adaptation: “I believe Thackeray used Redmond Barry to tell his own story in a deliberately distorted way because it made it more interesting. Instead of the omniscient author, Thackeray used the imperfect observer, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the dishonest observer, thus allowing the reader to judge for himself, with little difficulty, the probable truth in Redmond Barry’s view of his life. This technique worked extremely well in the novel but, of course, in a film you have objective reality in front of you all of the time, so the effect of Thackeray’s first-person story-teller could not be repeated on the screen. It might have worked as comedy by the juxtaposition of Barry’s version of the truth with the reality on the screen, but I don’t think that Barry Lyndon should have been done as a comedy.”[6] As in the case of most literary adaptations, Kubrick shortens or in some cases omits characters who were significant in the novel. The time period constituting his escape from the Prussian army to his marriage is given greater detail in the novel than the film.

It is also interesting to note that the film ends much before the novel’s ending. At the end of the film, Barry Lyndon survives with an amputated leg from a duel (an incident absent in the novel) and returns to his gambling lifestyle with lesser success while Lady Lyndon pays the debts accumulated during her marriage to Barry, including the sum promised to Redmond in return for leaving the country. Though these events occur in the novel as well, Thackeray also writes that upon Lady Lyndon’s death, the sum promised to Barry is cancelled and he becomes destitute eventually winding up in prison for his confidence schemes. It is at this place where Barry writes his memoirs, which end noting that he has to ‘eke out a miserable existence, quite unworthy of the famous and fashionable Barry Lyndon’. At this point Fitz-Boodle writes an epilogue of sorts about Barry’s final days, where his only visitor is his mother. He dies after spending 19 years in prison.

Thackeray based the novel on the life and exploits of the Irish rakehell and fortunehunter Andrew Robinson Stoney, who married (and subsequently was divorced by) Mary Eleanor Bowes, the Countess of Strathmore, who became known as “The Unhappy Countess” due to the tempestuous liaison. The revised version, which is the novel that the world generally knows as Barry Lyndon, was shorter and tighter than the original serialization, and dropped the FitzBoodle, Ed. device. It generally is considered the first “novel without a hero” or novel with an antihero in the English language. Upon its publication in 1856, it was entitled by Thackeray’s publisher The Memoirs of Barry Lyndon, Esq. Of The Kingdom Of Ireland Containing An Account of His Extraordinary Adventures; Misfortunes; His Sufferings In The Service Of His Late Prussian Majesty; His Visits To Many Courts of Europe; His Marriage and Splendid Establishments in England And Ireland; And The Many Cruel Persecutions, Conspiracies And Slanders Of Which He Has Been A Victim.[7] Barry Lyndon departs from its source novel in several ways.

In Thackeray’s writings, events are related in the first person by Barry himself. A comic tone pervades the work, as Barry proves both a raconteur and an unreliable narrator. Kubrick’s film, by contrast, presents the story objectively. Though the film contains voice-over (by actor Michael Hordern), the comments expressed are not Barry’s, but those of an omniscient, although not entirely impartial, narrator. This change in perspective alters the tone of the story; Thackeray tells a jaunty, humorous tale, but Kubrick’s telling is essentially tragic, with many subtle humorous jabs toward 18th century society, such as how Barry tries to learn the correct behavior for a gentleman, and pays a huge price when he does so. Kubrick also changed the plot. The novel does not include a final duel. By adding this episode, Kubrick establishes dueling as the film’s central motif: the film begins with a duel where Barry’s father is shot dead, and duels recur throughout the film.

Also, in Thackeray’s novel, the Chevalier de Balibari (played by Patrick Magee in the film) is Barry’s long-lost uncle (“Balibari” being a gentrified version of “Bally Barry,” the family’s home), and by marrying into the Lyndons, Barry intends to regain his family fortune (his ancestors were dispossessed by the Lyndons). In the film, Kubrick eliminated these familial connections from the story. References Barry Lyndon | Austin Public Library | BiblioCommons t TylerGroves Jan 09, 2017 I've had this checked out for a little bit, but I just can't get myself to watch it - I have a feeling it will be dull. Like d Davidf05 Jan 03, 2017 Aweful Movie but not Stanley Kubrick's worse that would go to 2001: A Space Odyssey & Eyes Wide Shut.

Like a akirakato Mar 22, 2016 This is a 1975 British-American period drama written, produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel "The Luck of Barry Lyndon" by William Makepeace Thackeray. The film recounts the exploits of a fictional 18th-century Irish adventurer. Thackeray tells a jaunty, humorous tale, but Kubrick changes and shows an essentially tragic story in such a deliberately distorted way that it might look more interesting with an extra duel or two. After all, however, I enjoyed this old-fashioned yet fascinatingly and emotionally engaging drama. Like r roddekker Mar 16, 2015 Back in 1975 - In between all of the ultra-violence of A Clockwork Orange and the snivelling gore of The Shining, director Stanley Kubrick presented (to the unsuspecting movie-audience) this beautifully photographed and meticulously designed, 3-hour costume Drama set in 18th Century England. Yes. Barry Lyndon is, in fact, a greatly flawed masterpiece.

But, all the same, it is, most definitely, worth a view simply for the sheer splendour of its wonderful cinematography, which won cameraman, John Alcott an Oscar. In a nutshell, Barry Lyndon's story concerns the ruthless shenanigans of an unscrupulous rogue (in the worst sense of the word) named Redmond Barry who basically lies, dupes, duels and seduces his way up the old social ladder. *Note* - Barry Lyndon took two years to complete. Like n Nursebob Dec 13, 2014 Stanley Kubrick’s sumptuous three-hour costume epic follows the rise and fall of Redmond Barry, an 18th century Irish libertine who manages to rise far above his humble station in life as he goes from penniless criminal to military hero to kept husband of a wealthy widow. But his single-minded pursuit of the good life, coupled with the insular mindset of the aristocracy with whom he tries to ingratiate himself, lead to his ultimate undoing. If the story is hardly original its glorious widescreen presentation more than compensates.

Utilizing a new lens technology which allowed him to capture key scenes using only ambient light, Kubrick fills the screen with soft pastel landscapes and baroque interiors awash in golden candlelight. Elaborate costumes and make-up coupled with meticulous period sets, apparently inspired by the paintings of Thomas Gainsborough among others, give the film a gauzy romantic feel complimented by a musical score of lilting Gaelic ballads and sombre orchestral movements. A lacklustre script does manage to deliver a few choice lines, but Ryan O’Neal’s leaden performance (his appointment had more to do with studio politics than artistic merit) is ultimately distracting; his portrayal of Barry being neither sympathetic nor engaging. A pity considering everything else was pretty well spot on. Like g garycornell Aug 16, 2014 A Stanley Kubrick buried treasure has surfaced. KCLS has two copies, which seems so few for one of Kubrick's best films. Then I noticed only one copy is checked out and no holds on any of the copies. Patrons of the KCLS I believe your overlooking a great movie. Stanley Kubrick is one of the great cinematographers of film.

He brings 18th Century Ireland come to life. The soundtrack perfectly fits the action of the screen. Possibly because the movie stars Ryan O'Neil, patrons feel this is a lightweight movie. It is nothing of the sort. It is a wonderful story of an Irish scoundrel who is trying to deceive people for personal gain. You will take many chance on a film in the coming years. Please consider this a pretty safe bet. Read the other comments bellow. I think they are right on and very well written. Kubrick deserves to be evaluated fairly and honestly. Kubrick remains on a very short list of the greatest directors of all time. Like m ManMachine Jun 02, 2013 Warner Bros. agreed to finance this $11 million production on the condition that director Stanley Kubrick cast a Top 10 box-office star (of their choice) in the title role. And that's how the no-talent Ryan O'Neal came to play the part of Redmond Barry._____ Needless to say, Barry Lyndon is, in fact, a flawed masterpiece.

But, with that said, it is most definitely worth a view for the sheer splendor of its exquisite cinematography which won John Alcott a well-deserved Oscar._____ Yes. At times Barry Lyndon was a total bore, especially when Ryan O'Neal made an appearance (which was far too often for my liking). But, of course, all of this can easily be forgiven due to the startling visual lushness of this production whose 3-hour story is set in 18th Century England._____ Featuring an excellent "baroque period" soundtrack, Barry Lyndon took 2 years to complete. Like j jimg2000 Apr 05, 2013 Didn't even know about this film in 1975 with the following names in theaters: Jaws, Rocky Horror Show, One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest (Big big Oscar winner), Dog Day Afternoon, Three Days of the Condor (Robert Redford), The Towering Inferno, Shampoo, Escape to Witch Mountain, Tommy, Nashville, The Day of the Locust ... Watched Lyndon on DVD and no wonder it did poorly against those films listed.

Like Ryan O'Neal | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie twitter Biography by Sandra Brennan Though his early career seemed to hold the promise of major stardom for actor Ryan O'Neal , matters didn't pan out and he has become more famous for his long-term live-in relationship with 1970s poster girl-turned-movie star-of-the-week actress Farrah Fawcett than any of his '80s and '90s films. Still, O'Neal is an appealing actor and his clean-cut good looks and reddish- blond hair give him an exuberant boyishness that belies his age. His first major role was that of Rodney Harrington on the television soap opera Peyton Place (1964-1969). O'Neal is the son of screenwriter Charles O'Neal and actress Patricia Callaghan O'Neal . A California native, he spent much of his childhood living abroad. As a young man, O'Neal sometimes got into trouble and at one point served a 51-day jail sentence for assault and battery after getting into a fight at a New Year's party.

Before becoming an actor, O'Neal was a lifeguard and an amateur boxer who was a one-time Golden Gloves contender. In film and television, O'Neal started out as a stunt man on Tales of the Vikings, a German television series. His parents were working on the same show. Upon his return to the States, O'Neal continued finding work in small parts on television shows, getting his first regular acting job on the Western Empire (1962). Following the demise of Peyton Place , O'Neal made his feature debut in The Big Bounce (1969), but did not get his big break until he was chosen from 300 auditioners to play Oliver Barrett opposite Ally McGraw in Arthur Hiller 's maudlin adaptation of Erich Seagal's best-seller Love Story- (1970). The film was a smash hit and landed O'Neal an Oscar nomination. Two more starring roles followed this success but it was not until he played an uptight professor who finds himself beleaguered by a free-spirited, love-struck Barbra Streisand in Peter Bogdanovich 's What's Up Doc?

(1972) that he rivaled the success of Love Story. It has been in light, romantic fare such as this that O'Neal has excelled. His next popular role was that of an exasperated con man in Paper Moon, the charming comedy that netted his co-star and real-life daughter, Tatum O'Neal , an Oscar. O'Neal then played the title role in Stanley Kubrick 's slow-paced epic Barry Lyndon (1975). By the late '70s, O'Neal's career had gone into decline and he had begun appearing in such dismal outings as Oliver's Story (the 1978 sequel to his first big hit) and The Main Event (1979) which reteamed him with Streisand. The '80s were even tougher for O'Neal, even though he appeared regularly onscreen. In 1989, O'Neal turned up in the wrenching made-for-TV-movie Small Sacrifices, which starred his lover Fawcett. Two years later, he and Fawcett starred in the short-lived television sitcom Good Sports.

He followed that up with a part in the body-switch comedy Chances Are. In the nineties he appeared in the showbiz satire Burn Hollywood Burn, and the quirky detective tale Zero Effect. As the 21st century began he could be seen opposite Al Pacino in People I Know, and in the 2003 comedy Malibu's Most Wanted. After seven years away from screen, he appeared in 2012's Slumber Party Slaughter. Before hooking up with Farrah in the early '80s, O'Neal was married to actresses to Joanna Moore and Leigh Taylor-Young . His children from those marriages, Tatum and Griffin O'Neal , are both actors as is his brother Kevin O'Neal . Movie Highlights Made his start in movies as a stunt man. His father, Charles, was a Hollywood screenwriter. Was a talented Golden Gloves boxer in his teens. Selected for his role in Love Story (for which he won an Oscar) out of a pool of 300 hopefuls. Considered for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, which eventually went to Al Pacino.

Longtime partner of 1970s sex symbol Farrah Fawcett, with whom he had a son.

Question: Who played the title role in the 1975 film ‘Barry Lyndon’?
Answer: Ryan O’Neal